Michael Capuzzo is the author of the New York Times bestseller Close to Shore and a former feature writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Miami Herald. His stories have appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Life. He has been nominated four times for the Pulitzer Prize and was a National Magazine Award finalist. He lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Taylor Mali is the former president of Poetry Slam, Inc., and one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement. He is the author of two books of poetry, What Learning Leaves and The Last Time as We Are, and four CDs of spoken word. He has appeared on the first two seasons of HBO's Def Poetry Jam and won the jury prize for best one-man show at the United States Comedy Arts Festival. A passionate advocate of teachers, he travels the country recruiting the next generation of teachers with his 1,000 Teachers Campaign. Taylor lives in New York.